Nation briefs 8/18/03

Father charged in sons' deaths in hot SUV

EAST ORANGE, N.J. -- Two young brothers died after being left inside a sport-utility vehicle in midday heat, and their father was charged with aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment.

Postal worker Derrick Strothers, 38, was released on $100,000 bail, and Essex County authorities continue to investigate the deaths of his only children, Derrick Jr., 2, and Dylan, 1.

While Strothers worked, the boys were left strapped in their car seats in Strothers' SUV with the windows closed for about 2 1/2 hours Friday afternoon, when temperatures reached the high 80s.

"We're still investigating exactly what happened, but maybe he literally forgot he had them with him," said Howard Zuckerman, assistant Essex County prosecutor.

Colorado man drowns rescuing grandson

NEDERLAND, Colo. -- A man jumped into a reservoir after his 6-year-old grandson, who had fallen in while fishing, and managed to push the boy to safety before slipping underwater and drowning.

The boy and his 8-year-old cousin ran frantically onto a highway Friday and flagged down a driver, who called 911.

"The little guy said, 'My grandpa pushed me out of the water,' and then the older one said, 'My grandpa went under,"' said the driver, Joanne Cash.

When rescuers arrived, they found Terry Ringer, 49, face down about 10 feet away from the shore and were able to pull him out of the water without help from divers, Nederland police Sgt. Steve Davis said.

Critics: Davis sabotaging Democratic recall hopes

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tension was laid bare Sunday between Gov. Gray Davis and the state's No. 2 official, who accused the governor's aides of sabotaging his efforts to keep the office in Democratic hands by offering himself as an alternative in the Oct. 7 recall election.

"If some of the governor's minions would stop trying to undercut my efforts, I think we could have a very coalesced opportunity for Democrats ... and we have a possibility of having a win-win position on the ballot," Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Bustamante's chief strategist, Richie Ross, said the Davis camp was pressuring Democratic donors and activists to withhold support from Bustamante.

"He's run into a pretty wide range of people as he's been making his phone calls, finding that many of them are being visited or called from the governor's campaign in an effort to shut him down," Ross said in an interview Sunday.

Mosquito-borne equine encephalitis on the rise

ATLANTA -- While West Nile virus cases increase in the West, another mosquito-borne virus is raging in the Southeast, afflicting hundreds of horses and sickening at least six people, killing two.

Florida has reported 178 horse cases of Eastern equine encephalitis -- seven times last year's activity. The disease has infected 120 horses in South Carolina and 47 in Georgia, and has been reported as far north as Maryland.

"This is the worst year in our records -- it has hit the East Coast and the Gulf Coast pretty hard," said Dr. Venaye Reece, equine programs coordinator for Clemson University's livestock and poultry health programs office.

The virus kills 30 percent to 50 percent of humans infected by it -- much higher than the 3 percent to 15 percent mortality rate for the West Nile virus.

A vaccine exists for horses but not for humans.

-- From wire reports